CNN: Rubio Campaign Is Prepping For Contested GOP Convention

Republican presidential candidate Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., speaks during a rally at Greenville Downtown Airport Friday, Feb. 12, 2016, in Greenville, S.C. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
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In the hopes of convincing donors that he is the man to stop Donald Trump, the campaign of Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) is reportedly mapping out a strategy for a brokered Republican convention.

Two anonymous people present at a private Manhattan meeting of top Rubio donors told CNN Thursday that the campaign sees a contested convention as one of two strategies it could use to deprive Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) or Donald Trump of earning the party’s nod. The other, which is seeming less likely, would be securing himself an adequate number of states and delegates ahead of the July convention.

While the possibility of a brokered convention has been floated before in the 2016 race, given the diverse and eccentric cast of characters running in the Republican field, the CNN report offers concrete evidence that the Rubio campaign is actively pitching this possibility to donors.

The last brokered convention in the U.S. occurred in the 1952 presidential race.

Rubio is the only top-tier candidate who has yet to secure a win in an early primary state. Cruz won the Iowa caucus, while Trump earned wide leads in New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada.

All of the candidates will face off Thursday night in Houston, Texas, in the final Republican debate before Super Tuesday.

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